Thread: Chipcorder activation

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Just bought a chipcorder board off Ebay(Evilusions brand) and have a question about triggering. The directions say to use a "momentary switch"...PIR, mat, etc. The prop it will be used with is setup to use a wireless remote. Is there any way to add the sound board to the wireless setup to trigger both, or do I need to stick with the PIR or mat?

u could use a relay as a dry contact 'momentary switch'

So just wire in a SPST relay between the board and outlet, correct? Now, the board operates from 7.5 vdc to 12vdc...I plan on using a 9 volt battery for the board. Should I then buy a 9 volt relay?

What does the wireless remote activate when you push the button? If it controls a wall socket or other 110VAC device, then you need a relay with a 110 volt coil. Use the Normally Open and Common terminals of the relay to trigger the Cow board. I don't know which version of the Cow board that you have, but you may also be be able to trigger it directly from a 110 volt source. Take a look at your manual to see what the options are.

The board is an older version that Evilusions carried...perhaps their own brand?
It's called Digital Sound Recorder....at least thats what is says on top of the printout that came with the board.

The remote powers a pigtail with 3 receptacles on the end. So, I'd have the prop, light and, ideally, the sound board hooked up to the pigtail. I do believe you're correct, Otaku, about the 110v relay after thinking about it. So then I'd need a 110v SPST relay?

The actual instructions do mention a relay for the "dry, momentary-typr contact", as well as a PIR or mat switch.

Cool. Cut a plug off of an extension cord, strip the wires and attach those to the coil terminals of the relay. This one will work:

125VAC/10A DPDT Plug-In Relay - RadioShack.com

The NO and Com terminals go to the trigger pins on the ChipCorder board. Under no circumstances should any voltage go to the trigger pins on the board. When you fire the remote, all three devices will trigger. BTW, if you got the board from Evilusions, it's probably from Simple Circuit Boards.

Thanks for the help...I really appreciate it. Can't wait to set it all up now!

Just curious - will your prop be activated only by you pressing and holding the remote, or is there a timer device involved? The reason I ask is that the older ISD chips don't like to have their trigger pins shorted beyond the playback time. I've gotten some odd behavior when I tried that. If the prop needs to run longer than the actual sound, do this. Edit the .wav file and add a period of silence after the sound effect (scream, growl, whatever). That way, if you need to hold those trigger pins shorted, the ISD won't have any issues. Keep in mind that the ISD chip will ignore triggers while playing, so set your file length to something close to the prop's run time. This trick assumes that you're using an ISD25XX series chip.

When I press the button, the prop will be activated(jump up) and will remain up until I press off. So maybe it would be beneficial to do it the second way....?

Originally Posted by Bones

When I press the button, the prop will be activated(jump up) and will remain up until I press off. So maybe it would be beneficial to do it the second way....?

If you mean using a timer, you really don't need to do that. If your prop "on" time is say, 10 secs and you don't intend to trigger it again immediately, just add that silent period to your sound file. After you deactivate the prop, the ISD will continue to play out the file and will be ready when you hit the trigger again.